<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>First and Last by Winterstar</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24755824">First and Last</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winterstar/pseuds/Winterstar'>Winterstar</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst, Hermaphrodites, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Omega Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 05:54:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,139</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24755824</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winterstar/pseuds/Winterstar</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Steve is hurt during battle, his true nature is revealed. As his omega, Tony's stunned, hurt, and upset. Can he still accept Steve?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Steve Rogers/Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>266</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>First and Last</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“The rarity of the condition and the overall anatomical changes does make this a difficult case. We had hoped that the serum would step up and heal the uteri but it doesn’t seem to be happening. We’ll have to operate and remove them.”</p>
<p>The doctor might be insane, Tony concludes. His brain blanks as he listens to the woman who looks like an Amazonian. She is tall and handsome in a beautiful way, and incredibly, unmistakably insane. Or an idiot. He’s not sure yet. </p>
<p>“Excuse me, what?” He hates that he has to look up, straining his neck. He should have stayed in the suit.</p>
<p>“Captain Rogers sustained a significant penetrating wound to the lower abdomen that pierced through his uteri sacs. If we don’t remove them soon, then infection may set in. Since the serum hasn’t helped heal the sacs, I’m afraid it might not ward off a potential infection either.” The doctor waits. She has that look of a teacher who’s frustrated with an irascible child. </p>
<p>“You must be thinking of someone else. Captain Rogers, AKA Captain America, is an alpha. Everyone knows that. He doesn’t have uteri sacs for pups. He never did. He’s an alpha. He’s my alpha I should know!” Grumpy isn’t the word for Tony’s annoyance right now. He needs a doctor who knows Steve’s physiology not some quack who obviously doesn’t know shit. Where the fuck is Bruce when you need him – off smashing up AIM operatives in lower Manhattan he supposes.</p>
<p>She frowns and then says in softer tones, “Mister Stark, your alpha is what we refer to in the medical field as a Hermi. He has both alpha and omega attributes. His omega traits are less prominent, and I suspect the serum has something to do with that, but he clearly has uteri sacs, ovi seeds. He also has slick glans and a bonding gland at his neck. You clearly must know this.”</p>
<p>Clearly, he does not. </p>
<p>He struggles to keep standing. Steve nearly died today. When the building fell and the rumble came down, Tony thought for sure he’d seen the love of his life extinguished. When they had been able to clean away the tonnage piled on top of him, Tony celebrated to find his husband, his alpha still in one piece. The celebration had been short lived because of his condition. Rebars through the lower gut and legs. The shield protected his head and his chest, but he must have slipped because of mortar striking him since he was found not in his curled up position behind the shield.  The blood pooled beneath him, forming a sort of strange image of a damaged angel. Even as the EMT’s gathered around Steve and Tony stood paralyzed to the side, he couldn’t get the idea out of his head. A damaged angel. His damaged and dying angel.</p>
<p>“Mister Stark, do you think it would be possible for you to sign the consent form? We need to operate, immediately.” </p>
<p>He blinks several times and his analytical brain clicks into high gear. “So, all of his uteri sacs?” Still not making sense, his mind jitters along a path. Steve had told him the bonding gland had developed after Rebirth – a quirk of the serum, nothing more. They’d adored it because it always enhanced their love making. </p>
<p>“Yes, they are interconnected as you know. We won’t be able to save any of them.” Her eyes are stern but not unkind. “I’m sorry, Mister Stark. I’ll try my best to save his glans.”</p>
<p>Tony only nods to that proclamation. Whatever. He hadn’t even known. What kind of husband doesn’t know their mate’s actual sex?  He forces the analytical brain to the forefront again. “How long will the surgery take?”</p>
<p>“Depending whether or not we hit any complications, probably about 3 hours. I’ll have a nurse come out during the procedure to keep you informed.”  She touches his wrist softly and says, “He’ll be all right, Mister Stark. He has you.”</p>
<p>He doesn’t say – he didn’t even confess his true nature to him. He thanks the doctor, signs the required forms, and then a hospital attendant ushers him into a private room to wait. It doesn’t even occur to him to ask to see his husband before the operation. When the attendant leaves, Tony collapses into a chair and sits stunned for several minutes.  Probably his actual stupor deafens him to the door to the room opening. When a hand touches him, he jumps, but then settles as Natasha places her other hand firmly on his chest and pushes him back into the chair.</p>
<p>She sits with him without speaking for a while and then quietly asks, “How is he?”</p>
<p>“They need to operate.” He doesn’t elaborate. How is he going to explain this to anyone? And is it his story to tell? It isn’t. He knows that much. It’s Steve’s story. One he desperately needs to hear.</p>
<p>“Is it bad?”</p>
<p>Tony sniffles and, for the first time, realizes he’s crying. He nods. “Yes.” The words barely get out. “Yes, it is.” The serum isn’t working for part of Steve’s body. It’s rejecting part of who Steve is. What the fuck does that mean? “It’s bad, Nat. Really bad.”</p>
<p>She rubs his bent back. “I’m sure the serum will do it’s magic, Tony.”</p>
<p>Shaking his head, he replies, “No. The doctor said that it’s not repairing-.” He stops before he says uteri. “It’s not working. The damage is just getting worse.” His damaged angel is dying. “They need to-.” He sobs and puts his head in his hands. “How could I not -.” How could he not know? How could he be such an awful mate. “He’s dying, Nat. I didn’t even ask to see him before they brought him to surgery.”</p>
<p>She gathers him to her and embraces him. He can smell the beta pheromones drifting in the air about her. Her scent is strong and vibrant, so different than Steve’s. She holds him until the sobs racking his body settle and quiet. When they part, she looks him in the eye and says, “I’m going to go and get some coffee, something to eat. Are you going to be okay?”</p>
<p>“Yeah. I’m – I’m going to check my emails.” Or something. </p>
<p>She squeezes his hand before getting up to leave. When the door whispers closed, Tony looks around the room. It’s a small lounge. A double seated cushioned chair, a darkened TV screen. A few other single chairs that look less comfortable and some unremarkable art on the walls. A single window out into a world he does not know. Nothing special. </p>
<p>Everything special about you came out of a bottle.</p>
<p>He cringes. He needs a distraction. He’s up and pacing back and forth in the room, tearing a little at his hair. His phone buzzes in his pocket and he yanks it out, set to throw it across the room. He stops mid-toss when he realizes it’s Barnes. He presses the connect.</p>
<p>“How is he?” No hello, no how are you doing.  They’ve never been friends; they tolerate one another at best.</p>
<p>“He’s in surgery,” Tony rasps. He can barely force out the words.</p>
<p>“What the fuck for?” Over the line Tony hears a scrambling and then a huff and panting. Barnes is running. “I’m coming over there.”</p>
<p>“No. Nat is here. You stay there. Help with the mess.” A terrorist cell from AIM just blew a hole through lower Manhattan. “Make sure that substance isn’t lethal.”</p>
<p>Barnes exhales audibly. “You think he’ll be okay?”</p>
<p>Tony bites at his lips. If anyone would know it would be Barnes. “The rebar punctured his lower abdomen.” He hopes that sets off some clues to Barnes.</p>
<p>“And the serum, it’ll fix it right?”</p>
<p>“No. It’s rejecting- it’s not working,” Tony says and waits – and waits as Barnes breathes over the phone. “You know.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, yeah I do.”</p>
<p>“Fuck! I’m his omega! How the hell did you know, and I didn’t?” Tony cries out. The tears prickle at his eyes again.</p>
<p>“I’m coming,” Barnes says.</p>
<p>“Yeah, yeah, that’s a good idea.” Tony clicks off the phone and wilts back into the two seater. His shoulders slump and the willpower to even breathe leaves him. A coffee is forced into his hand and he looks up to see Nat standing next to him. </p>
<p>“Drink the coffee.”</p>
<p>“Barnes is coming,” Tony whispers.</p>
<p>Natasha nods as if she already knows. He wonders if everyone knows. Everyone but the stupid omega. He rubs at his face and then decides to overdose on coffee. He downs the steaming drink, not caring that it scorches his mouth and throat.</p>
<p>“Whoa!” Nat grabs for the cup. “What the hell? Stop it. It’s going to be fine. He’s going to need you.”</p>
<p>Tony chews back his words, lets the burning sensation in his mouth cause his eyes to fill with tears again. “You don’t know that.” His voice sounds ruined and he doesn’t know if it’s from the hot coffee or the pain of revelation. “You don’t.” He pushes away from her and goes to sit in a single chair that is massively uncomfortable.</p>
<p>Ignoring her, Tony pulls out his phone again and scrolls through his news feed. It’s all about the attack on Manhattan and how well the new Avengers did with stopping it before it spread. They’re highlighting the newest members, Falcon, the White Wolf (aka Winter Soldier), Black Panther, etc. There are interviews of scared citizens thanking the Avengers. The whole of it smears in Tony’s view because he cannot stop from crying. He clicks off the news and then stares at his phone – slowly, his thumb hits the Stark browser.</p>
<p>He types in “Hermi.”</p>
<p>A lot of unwanted porn sites come up, but then he finds the medical site he is looking for and clicks on it.</p>
<p>
  <b>Human Sexual Physiology</b>
</p>
<p><i>The three distinct sexes are separated into Alpha, Beta, and Omega.</i> This is all the basics and Tony scrolls through the different figures of anatomy. Of course, he gets caught up in the theories on the different sexes.</p>
<p><i>While the majority of the population can be categorized as beta where the female has a single uterus and two ovaries and the male has testicles, the alpha and omega sexes are considered rare and a evolutionary redundancy.</i> Nice to know he’s a redundancy. He flicks the scroll to continue to read. </p>
<p><i>It has long been theorized but not proven that the alpha and omega developed through a need to increase the homo sapiens species when in competition with other humanoid species and the greater animal world at large. The modern day omega – a male by genitalia – developed what is called uteri sacs and ovi seeds in those sacs. This probably developed due to a hermaphroditism, although with some major distinguishing characteristics. The modern day omega’s vaginal opening is fused with the anal opening. The uteri sacs are multiple with the ‘ovaries’ fused into the sacs. These sacs can hold up to five fetuses in total. </i> </p>
<p>He skims through the rest of the paragraph and ends up reading about alpha physiology.</p>
<p>
  <i>An alpha has male genitalia with some differences. The alpha male’s penis has evolved what is commonly referred to as a knot but it in actually a phallic sac. This sac is able to produce large quantities of semen into the omega’s uteri sacs when locked in during intercourse. This increases the possibility of pregnancy and therefore may have insured the survival of the species. Theories still abound about why the betas population continued to flourish when the omega and alpha breeding was much more efficient with at least 3-5 ‘pups’ being born per pregnancy. One theory is that the male omega never developed mammary glands to support the live births and therefore often depended on beta wet nurses during more primitive times until modern day formula was developed.</i>
</p>
<p>Well whatever – this still doesn’t explain the whole issue with Steve until he gets to a link to rare conditions. He hits it and it goes directly to a page entitled:</p>
<p>
  <b>Rare Mutations of the Alpha and Omega Physiology and Anatomy</b>
</p>
<p>Most mutations are lethal during fetal development, but one stands out as the most common. </p>
<p>
  <i>Hermi: taken from the beta word for hermaphroditism, the Hermi class of alpha, omega humans is one with characteristics of the two different classes. A true Hermi will have the phallic sac, be able to impregnate an omega, and bond through the biting of the omega’s gland. In addition, the true Hermi will have functional uteri sacs and ovi seeds, glans to produce slick from the vaginal canal through to the fused canal. The low incidence rate shows that it is considered a defect and is usually fatal. Children born as Hermi are often sickly and usually die within 1 year to 18 months of birth. Unlike beta hermaphrodites with an incidence rate of 1 in 1500 births, Hermis usually do not survive to adulthood and therefore rarely have children of their own. Beta hermaphrodites are considered healthy while Hermis are considered a fatal flaw of genetics.</i>
</p>
<p>“Fuck,” Tony says and rubs a hand down his face. He hears the door open this time and spots Barnes standing there, a washed out look on his face. </p>
<p>Barnes leans into Natasha and whispers in her ear before she nods and leaves. He lifts his chin at Tony and says, “You look up the ugly details then?”</p>
<p>Tony wipes his eyes and face. He hates to show weakness to Bucky, the only other alpha on the team. “He never told me.”</p>
<p>Barnes scrapes a chair across the floor and plants it right next to Tony, close enough that their knees are only centimeters apart. “When he was a kid, nobody thought he would live. People were prejudice as shit around him. Don’t know how it got out, but it always did. Couldn’t walk down the street without people throwing trash at him. Probably one of the reasons he started to stand up for the little guy, even though he wasn’t much he always did.”</p>
<p>“I thought he was just sickly,” Tony says. He knows he should have put two and two together. Alphas are rarely ill. </p>
<p>“You know they selected him for the project because they thought he’d die. Figured it wasn’t a big deal if some mutant of nature died. And then he didn’t. And they didn’t know what the hell to do with him,” Barnes says. “Lucky for me too. In so many ways.” He looks off into the distance before he concentrates his focus on Tony again. “He loves you.”</p>
<p>“He lied to me.”</p>
<p>“He just didn’t tell you everything about himself. Have you told him every little detail?”</p>
<p>Tony leaps to his feet. “This isn’t a fucking little detail. This is his nature. He’s Hermi! I mean how the fuck did he hide it all these years. I’ve only ever seen him in rut never in heat. What the fuck?”</p>
<p>Barnes glares at him. “Can you at least think a little about him? He’s in surgery right now. He needs you to think about him, be strong for him.” He shoves the chair Tony was sitting in away with his left arm, the gears whirl. “You think it’s easy to be different, to know people look at you differently? See you as a freak? As a disease? A sore on the human condition? Think about it, Tony? He loves you. He never, ever wanted to see that on your face.”</p>
<p>“I’m not – I didn’t say I was disgusted by him!” Tony yells. “He lied to me.”</p>
<p>Barnes is on his feet. “He loves you. Loves you like no one else. He sees you as the perfect omega. He never want you knowing he’s not the perfect alpha. That he’s Hermi!”</p>
<p>“He lied,” Tony says but the strength of his anger fades away and he sighs. “How come he never went into heat?” He’s not looking at Barnes now, he keeps his eyes lowered like any good omega asking an alpha.</p>
<p>Barnes is too smart to read it as a ploy, but he pretends to accept the deference Tony offers. “When he was younger, he was too sick to worry about it. He never went into heat. After Rebirth, he went into heat almost immediately. Or at least that’s what I’m told. Phillips wasn’t too keen on it. Sent him away. The military got him on some pretty strong illegal suppressants. The rest is history, I think.” He shrugs. “What the hell does it matter?”</p>
<p>Tony shakes his head. He’s not going to share how he found the dildos in Steve’s drawer. How Steve would never let him top. How he had the most beautiful alpha fragrance and now he knows it wasn’t just alpha but omega mixed in – no wonder it was nearly high inducing. </p>
<p>He pushes past Barnes and goes to the single window, staring out at the world that doesn’t know, doesn’t realize how his perception of reality shifted today, a quake of seismic proportions cracked his life in two. The before and the after.</p>
<p>“He loves you more than anything in the world, Tony,” Barnes says. He never uses Tony’s first name, just like he never uses Barnes’.</p>
<p>“I love him too, Bucky. More than anything.”</p>
<p>“But can you love him through this?”</p>
<p>The press of purpose bends him, hurts him. He’s always tried to be a good man, but can he be the good husband. Can he give what his Hermi needs? He doesn’t answer. He wonders if he can answer.</p>
<p>When the nurse comes and tells him that the surgery is going well, he only smiles. When they report that his husband is out of surgery and in recovery he nods. When the Amazonian doctor comes and tells him they were able to save two of his uteri sacs he says that’s a good thing. She smiles and rests her hand on his. </p>
<p>“It is.” She leaves after she tells him he can see Steve once they bring him to a private room.</p>
<p>They call him soon after and he follows the nurse to Steve’s room. She opens the door and gestures for him to join his husband. He stalls at the entrance. Everything changes from now on. His alpha is an omega and his omega is his alpha. The first and last of everything he knows and desires. Everything changes.</p>
<p>But somethings…somethings stay the same.</p>
<p>He steps into the room. Steve’s eyes are open and there’s a fear and a hope laced across his features. In that moment, Tony knows what his decision will be, what it will always be. </p>
<p>He reaches his hand out to grasp Steve’s and murmurs, “My first and my last. Always.”</p>
<p>THE END</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>